Coming to an Understanding
by StarSource
Summary: Bolt is frustrated. Ever-since his father was inaugurated to be Hokage, he's had less and less time to spend with him. At first it was great; his father was the Hokage after-all! Soon enough though, all of those days of playing and training started to get cut short, until, eventually, they were no more. Why does it feel like his father isn't there for him anymore?
1. Training

**Hello! Thank you for checking out my story :).**

 **This story takes place after chapter 700, but before Gaiden. I wanted to throw my two cents in on this situation between Boruto and Naruto. Most other stories that touch on this subject tend to take sides, but, as with most issues, it is far more complicated than black and white. I wish I could make a proper story to really develop the situation, but I just don't have time for that, so, instead, I made this one-shot. This story will be split into two chapters, since I think 10k+ words is too much for one chapter. I will, hopefully, release the next one tomorrow in celebration of 'Boruto: Naruto the Movie'! I hope you enjoy the story.**

 **Reviews are always appreciated :D.**

* * *

 **Training**

A gentle breeze blew as Bolt Uzumaki watched his father shunshin away. The young Uzumaki turned around and looked up at the Hokage monument. He scanned the monument in order, starting from the first and stopping at the seventh. He always caught himself staring at the seventh's monument for a bit too long.

"Bolt!"

His father was always busy; being the Hokage is a big job after all. Even though he wouldn't admit it, Bolt missed his dad. Even after the small exchange of words they just had, Bolt couldn't shake this feeling of sadness and longing. He couldn't help but to reminisce on his younger days, when his father seemed to have endless time for him. Bolt wore a sad smile on his face as he thought about all those times they played ninja together, had snowball fights, or when his father told him stories about being a ninja. This happened every time his father was too busy and he hated every second of it.

"Bolt, are you listening!?"

Ninjas were supposed to endure. Bolt understood his father's words; they were practically imbedded in his genes. That was his parents' nindo after all and now it became the village's nindo. Ever-since his Uncle Kakashi stepped down and gave the position of Hokage to his father, Bolt felt like he was competing against the entire village for his father's attention, which he once held. Bolt's hands tightened into fists.

"Earth to Bo-"

"I hear you Konohamaru-Sensei." Bolt said in monotone.

Konohamaru was a bit shocked to hear the sudden change in Bolt's voice; his voice was usually much more active and enthusiastic. Konohamaru sympathized with Bolt, so he let himself relax. "Let's get this cleaned up alright? I'll even help you out."

"Hai, arigatou sensei." Bolt responded in the same tone.

The two made their way up to the Hokage faces and started cleaning. Bolt, being an academy student, had not learned how to stick to surfaces with his chakra, so he had to use some rope. On the other hand Konohamaru, being a jonin, could do walk on surfaces very easily. As they were cleaning the monument, Konohamaru took notice of Bolt's unusual silence; usually Bolt would be bugging him to teach him how to walk on surfaces with chakra. Konohamaru stopped cleaning and walked over to Bolt.

"Hey Bolt, if we finish early I'll treat you to some ramen." Konohamaru said. If Bolt was anything like Naruto, Konohamaru knew this would get his attention and sure enough it did.

Bolt stopped cleaning and looked at Konohamaru. "Really?"

"Yep."

Bolt's mood immediately changed. "All right then let's do this dattebasa!" Bolt shouted with renewed vigor.

Konohamaru rolled his eyes and smiled in his own nostalgia. He quickly got lost in his thoughts.

"Sensei! Stop standing there smiling and hurry up! I WANT THAT RAMEN!" Bolt shouted.

Konohamaru cringed at Bolt's voice, since he was right next to him. A tick mark grew on his head and he whacked Bolt on the head. "I'M RIGHT NEXT TO YOU BAKA!" Konohamaru shouted back.

"OW! You didn't have to hit me so hard!" Bolt said while rubbing his head.

"You deserved it" Konohamaru replied with folded arms.

"You're so mean sensei." Bolt complained.

"You're wasting time! Do you want the ramen or not?" Konohamaru questioned.

"Of course I do!" Bolt responded

"Then let's finish this!" Konohamaru said.

"LET'S DO IT DATTEBASA!" Bolt declared

The aspiring ninja quickly got to work on the monument with Konohamaru right behind him. It took a while, but the two finally cleaned up all of Bolt's creative drawings. Konohamaru grabbed Bolt and jumped down to street level.

Bolt looked up at Konohamaru. "You gotta teach me how to walk on walls like that Konohamaru-sensei."

"I'm sure your team's sensei will take care of that when you pass the academy test." Konohamaru said with a smile. "I'm surprised Naruto hasn't taught you that yet."

Bolt grew quiet at the mention of his father. His gaze wandered towards the floor.

"Bolt are you-" Konohamaru couldn't finish before Bolt pulled him along.

"Come on Konohamaru-sensei, I'm starving." Bolt said with a grin.

Bolt then took off, dragging Konohamaru along. The two arrived there in a comical fashion with Konohamaru being dragged across the entire village by a little kid. Bolt immediately took a seat, but soon found that Konohamaru hadn't join him. He looked back to find his superior motionless on the floor outside the ramen restaurant. With groan, Bolt got up and walked over to his seemingly incapacitated sensei.

"Sensei." Bolt called, but received no answer. Bolt bent over to inspect the body and decided to roll him over with his foot. Bolt noticed that Konohamaru had a creepy glazed look in his eyes, so he did most sensible thing he could think of; he poked his sensei continuously.

Konohamaru immediately reacted and instantly shot up with angry look on his face. "BOLT YOU IDIOT!" Konohamaru shouted with the help of Iruka's infamous Big Head jutsu.

"Hey sensei you're okay." Bolt said nonchalantly while putting his hands behind his head.

"OF COURSE I'M OKAY! WHY DID YOU DRAG ME HERE!?" Konohamaru shouted.

"Because I was hungry and you were being slow." Bolt murmured without making eye contact.

"Bolt." Konohamaru said in a menacing tone. As he slowly approached the blonde boy he let out a bit of killing intent.

Bolt saw and felt the sudden pressure. He started to sweat a bit. "K-konohamaru-sensei?" Bolt said as he backed up. Fortunately for Bolt, he wasn't looking where he was going and bumped into the one person that could get him out of this situation.

"Boruto-kun, where have you been?" The voice was soft yet firm at the same time.

Bolt immediately recognized the voice. "Mom!" He immediately turned around and hugged the person behind him.

"Hello Boruto-chan." Hinata said as she held her son.

Bolt immediately broke away with a bit of a blush. "Mooom! Don't call me that!" Bolt demanded.

Hinata lightly chuckled. "Sorry Bolt-kun. Now why weren't you home like you told Himawari you were going to be? She wanted to play with you."

"I'm sorry mom, I kind of forgot." Boruto explained while scratching the back of his head.

"What were you doing instead?" Hinata asked with folded arms.

Bolt didn't have an answer to that. If his mother found out he was painting the Hokage faces again, he was grounded for sure. Bolt opted to stay silent for the moment, but he could see his mom was growing suspicious.

"He was with me Hinata-san. We were training. Sorry for any inconvenience." Konohamaru said with an apologetic bow.

"You know you don't have to be so formal with me Konohamaru." Hinata said with playful smile.

Konohamaru scratched his head in an embarrassed fashion.

"Thank you for training him Konohamaru. I'm guessing you're going to eat at Ichiraku's now?" Hinata questioned.

"Yep Konohamaru-sensei promised he was going to treat me to some ramen!" Bolt explained.

"Really? That's really kind of you Konohamaru, but I can-" Hinata was cutoff.

"No its fine really. I did promise him after all and I never go back on my word." Konohamaru explained.

"Arigatou Konohamaru." Hinata said with a bow. She then turned to Bolt. "Bolt-kun, please behave and make it to dinner on time." Hinata emphasized the need for him to be aware of the time.

"Okay Mom, I will." Bolt said.

"There might be surprise for you at dinner." Hinata quickly said. She gave Bolt a quick kiss on the forehead and made to leave. "Please keep him out of trouble Konohamaru." Hinata said she sped off from rooftop to rooftop.

"Easier said than done." Konohamaru mumbled. He then felt a tug on his arm.

"Come on sensei, let's go eat." Bolt said with his usual grin.

"Is ramen all you can think about?" Konohamaru quipped.

"No...I think about all the cool jutsus I want to learn too!" Bolt retorted.

Konohamaru laughed. "You really are a lot like your father." He ruffled the blonde's unruly hair.

Bolt didn't respond. The pair sat down at the ramen shop.

"Welcome to Ichiraku's." Ayame greeted as she came out of the kitchen. "Oh hey Bolt-kun! It's been a while since I've seen you here." Ayame said

"Yeah I know! I've been dying for some ramen, but my mom keeps me away from this place." Bolt explained with a smile.

"Hinata-san? I wonder why." Ayame inquired.

"Something about becoming obsessed with ramen like my dad." Bolt said.

"Oh that explains it. Your father was completely obsessed with ramen. I'm pretty sure ramen was just about all he ate as a kid." Ayame said with a smile.

"Ramen is the food of kami. Naruto knew that and he knew that we made the best ramen in all of the five nations. That's why he came here." Teuchi poetically declared as he slowly came out of the kitchen.

"Old man Teuchi!" Bolt said as he jumped over the counter to hug the ramen shop owner.

"I haven't seen you in a while Bolt. How old are you now? Nine?" Teuchi asked.

Bolt broke the hug and folded his arms. "I'm ten old man!" Bolt said indignantly.

"Ah. You're growing up fast aren't you?" Teuchi said as he ruffled the young boy's hair. "Oh Konohamaru! It's nice to see you again." Teuchi greeted.

"Likewise Teuchi-san." Konohamaru responded.

"So I'm guessing you're treating the young Uzumaki?" Teuchi asked.

"Unfortunately." Konohamaru answered with a smile.

Teuchi had hearty memory filled laugh. "So what would you two like?"

"A bowl of miso ramen with pork!" Bolt said with enthusiasm.

"I'll have Sapporo ramen." Konohamaru said.

"Okay coming right up!" Teuchi said as he headed back into the kitchen.

Bolt hopped back over the counter back to his seat. There was a brief moment of silence between the two before Konohamaru broke it.

"So how's the academy going?" Konohamaru asked.

"I guess it's going fine. But it's sooo boring~" Bolt said with a groan.

"What about your grades?" Konohamaru asked with a small hint of concern.

"My grades? They're fine. I got some of the highest grades in the class." Bolt responded.

Konohamaru was a bit surprised given his father's past performance. "Really? Impressive." Konohamaru praised. "Then what about your taijutsu and ninjutsu?"

"Pfft. I'm easily the best." Bolt said confidently.

"Oh really?" Konohamaru asked in a teasing tone.

"Yeah really!" Bolt retorted.

"Okay whatever you say." Konohamaru responded.

"Are you doubting me!?" Bolt accused.

"No, but it's hard to believe. I mean there are prodigies like Sadara in your class after-all." Konohamaru said.

"I'm way better than her!" Bolt protested.

"I don't know. She's an Uchiha after-all." Konohamaru responded.

"That's it!" Bolt said as he jumped out of his seat. "I'm gonna show what I'm made of!" Bolt said as he flared his chakra.

"Bolt not here!" Konohamaru shouted.

"HERE WE GO!" Bolt shouted as he started weaving signs.

Suddenly a bell rang.

"The ramen is ready!" Ayame said.

"How about you show me that stuff later and we eat now?" Konohamaru asked.

"But I was about to show off my best jutsu!" Bolt complained.

"Alright more ramen for me I guess." Konohamaru said as he feigned a move to take the boy's bowl.

Before he could get close to the bowl of ramen, Bolt appeared in his seat. "Hands off sensei!" Bolt said.

Konohamaru smirked. "You really live up to your name don't you?" Konohamaru teased.

Bolt stopped slurping his noodles and looked at his sensei. "What's that supposed to mean?" Bolt questioned.

"Oh nothing, it's just that you're pretty fast. At least when ramen is involved." Konohamaru chuckled.

"That does it! When I'm done with this ramen, you're going down!" Bolt declared.

"What makes you think you can take on a Jonin?" Konohamaru asked.

"There's no way a top ninja like me is going lose to you!" Bolt shouted with determination.

Konohamaru saw a lot of himself in Bolt. He chuckled a bit, but that chuckle gradually turned into a full blown laugh. Despite Bolt's glare, he couldn't get himself to stop; Bolt brought back memories of his attempts at defeating his grand-father and that was a comedy in it of itself.

"What's so funny?!" Bolt shouted with a red face.

Konohamaru put a hand on Bolt's head. "Nothing. How about we settle this at the training grounds?

"Heck yeah! You don't stand a chance!" Bolt responded.

The two then turned their attention back to their ramen bowls. Bolt scarfed down the ramen bowl, while Konohamaru was taking his time with his bowl. Bolt was contemplating on asking for another bowl, but he knew better; he was being treated after all. He also didn't have any money on him.

"Well you definitely got your father's appetite for ramen." Teuchi said with a laugh.

Bolt stayed silent and offered a smile as a response.

"So how about it young man? Can you handle another bowl?" Teuchi asked.

Bolt looked over at Konohamaru, but he was still enjoying his bowl. "I'd really like to, but I don't have any money on me. I don't want to waste all of sensei's money either." Bolt explained.

Konohamaru put down his bowl to speak up, but Teuchi beat him to it.

"Nonsense, these are on the house!" Teuchi said.

"Eh? Really?!" Bolt asked.

"Of course! We wouldn't let Naruto's kid go hungry. You have to grow big and strong like him right?" Teuchi said.

Bolt punched the air above his head. "YOU'RE THE BEST OLD MAN!" He shouted.

Teuchi flashed a grin and went back into the kitchen.

"Besides you're just too cute to turn away Bolt-kun." Ayame said as she pinched his cheeks.

"N-Nee-chan. S-Stop." Bolt said as he tried to wriggle out of her grip. His cheeks heated up quickly. "You're embarrassing me."

Ayame let go of the boy's cheeks. "Sorry Bolt-kun, I just can't help myself." Ayame said with a smile.

Bolt didn't realize how hard he was trying to pull away from Ayame, so when she let go he felt his weight suddenly shift behind him. He tried his best to stay upright, but he ended up falling out of his seat and hitting the ground head first. Konohamaru nearly choked on his ramen laughing, while Ayame looked a bit worried.

"Bolt-kun are you okay?" Ayame asked the blonde boy.

Bolt slowly got up and dusted himself off. He suddenly turned around and pointed at Ayame in an accusing manner. "Nee-chan you did that on purpose!" Bolt accused.

Ayame couldn't help, but sweatdrop. "I'm sorry Bolt-kun." Ayame responded. "How is Hima-chan doing?" She asked to change the subject.

"She's fine. I think she went with my mom to visit Uncle Neji." Bolt responded as he sat in his seat. "She wants you to come over again too."

"Does she? Well I have to admit, I did have fun time last time I babysat you guys." Ayame said with a smile.

Teuchi walked out of the kitchen with Bolt's second bowl of ramen in hand and placed in front of the soon to be shinobi. "Alright, here you go young man." Teuchi said with a prideful grin.

"This is the best ramen ever!" Bolt declared as he dug in. Much like the first bowl, the second one was quickly emptied.

"So do you think you can handle a third one?" Teuchi challenged.

"Of course I could!" Bolt said as he pointed to his chest with pride. "But I gotta go train old man!"

Teuchi let out a deep laugh. "Just like your father! A heart of a ninja with an appetite for ramen." Teuchi ruffled the boy's hair.

Bolt opted for silence yet again and this did not go unnoticed.

"Thank you for the ramen Teuchi-san, it's as good as always." Konohamaru said as he put the necessary amount of money on the counter.

"Anytime Konohamaru, make sure to come again." Teuchi responded.

"I definitely will and thanks for covering for him too." Konohamaru said as he pointed to Bolt, who seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

"Not a problem! I've known Naruto since he was around Bolt's age. He is my number one customer, so the least I could do is help his son follow in his footsteps." Teuchi explained with a chuckle.

Konohamaru joined in with a chuckle of his own. "Well if he wants to surpass his father he has big shoes to fill." Konohamaru turned to look at Bolt. "Come on Bolt, let's get going." Konohamaru said.

Bolt snapped out of his trance. "Wait where?" Bolt asked.

"To the training grounds of course!" Konohamaru responded as h.e left the ramen shop

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Bolt said as he hopped off his seat. "Thanks again old man! See ya later Nee-chan." Bolt shouted as he ran to catch up to Konohamaru.

"Be safe Bolt!" Ayame responded.

"Train hard!" Teuchi responded.

Bolt caught up to his sensei. "I bet I can beat you to the training grounds." Bolt challenged.

"Do you want to be tired before we even start training?" Konohamaru asked.

"Tired? This is a warm-up!" Bolt responded with mischievous grin. "If Konohamaru-sensei thinks this is hard, then maybe he's not strong enough to be Hokage." Bolt taunted.

"All right you asked for it." Konohamaru said as he got ready to take off.

Before any sort of countdown could be initiated, Bolt took off. Konohamaru let out a sigh and raced after him. As Konohamaru sped through the village, he was growing worried; he hadn't seen Bolt at all. Despite his worry, he sped on and arrived at the training grounds.

"What took you so long?" Bolt asked with a grin. He was in the process of stretching.

Konohamaru was quite surprised. "How did you-"

"I don't know sensei. Maybe I'm just faster than you." Bolt teased.

Bolt stretched for a few more minutes, before giving his sensei a confused gaze. "Aren't you going to stretch a bit?" Bolt asked.

"I don't think I'll need to." Konohamaru responded.

"My mom always says you should stretch before training." Bolt explained.

"I wouldn't call this training. You're not even a genin after-all." Konohamaru taunted.

Bolt didn't say anything and made a sudden advance; he threw a punch aimed at Konohamaru's gut. Konohamaru slapped it down, but he was on his back-foot since Bolt took him by surprise. Bolt used the downward momentum to spin and sweep Konohamaru. The jonin couldn't really do much so he fell on his back.

"Lesson number one sensei. Never underestimate your opponent." Bolt said as he stood over his sensei.

"That was cheap shot." Konohamaru said as he got up and dusted himself off.

"Lesson number two, expect the unexpected." Bolt lectured.

"Has Kakashi been training you?" Konohamaru joked.

"Yep. Uncle Kakashi taught me all kinds of cool stuff." Bolt responded.

"Alright then, it looks like I'll have actually have to move. I'll give you credit kid." Konohamaru said. "Don't get cocky. Something like that won't work again." Konohamaru said.

As soon as he finished those words, Bolt was on him again with the same approach. He slapped down Bolt's punch with more force and kicked the blonde in the gut. Bolt flew a feet back, but recovered gracefully.

"Not bad sensei, but I think it's time to get serious!" Bolt said as he pulled his black jacket over his head threw it aside.

"All right whenever you're ready." Konohamaru responded.

Bolt ran at him at a speed no genin should be able to achieve and attacked him. It looked like the same approach he had used before, but Konohamaru immediately noticed the difference and opted to dodge rather than letting the Bolt's attack make any sort contact.

"Where-" Konohamaru was quickly cutoff by Bolt's following attack.

Konohamaru knew he couldn't afford to parry his attacks; his experience with Hanabi definitely helped him. He was very impressed that Bolt was as proficient as he was using Jyuuken, especially considering he didn't have the byakugan. Bolt suddenly sped up his open palm strikes and caught Konohamaru right under the shoulder. Konohamaru cursed under his breath at his carelessness and immediately grabbed Bolt's arm. Using Konohamaru's grip for leverage, Bolt responded by jumping and sending a kick to Konohamaru's torso. Konohamaru caught the kick with his free hand and flung him upwards. He immediately followed up with a quick punch to the gut and roundhouse kick to send Bolt hurling into the ground. Konohamaru thought he might have gone too far, but his doubts were assuaged when he saw Bolt stand up, albeit with a bit of trouble.

"I think you forget who my mom is." Bolt said with a grin. "Besides Ojii-san has been training me."

"Well I gotta say you took me by surprise." Konohamaru said while shaking his arm a bit; it still stung from having his tenketsu closed. "Your chakra control is excellent. Must have gotten that from your mother. But playtime is over. I'm going to show you why I earned this vest." Konohamaru said.

"Bring it on-ttebasa!" Bolt challenged.

Konohamaru motioned for Bolt attack. The boy didn't hesitate and approached with a few palm strikes. Konohamaru easily pushed the palm strikes away, but chose not to retaliate. Bolt jumped a few feet back and fell back in a classic Hyuuga stance. Before he could assess the situation any further Konohmaru was in front of him. Konohamaru quickly kicked Bolt's feet from under him.

"Itai..." Bolt said as he rubbed his head.

"You gotta do better than that Bolt." Konohamaru said with a cocky grin.

"Tch!" Bolt quickly back-flipped away to create space between them. "I'll show you!" Bolt declared. With battle cry, he pushed chakra into his feet and ran at Konohamaru. Bolt tried to to catch Konohamaru off guard with a quick palm strike to his stomach, but Konohamaru dodged it. Bolt followed up with couple more, but the result was the same. Konohamaru jumped back and grinned at Bolt. Taking that as a challenge, Bolt wasted no time in attacking. Konohamaru blocked the first palm strike. He quickly noticed that Bolt's stance leaning forward so instead of blocking or dodging the incoming palm strike, Konohamaru used to Bolt's momentum and slapped his palm away to throw the blonde off balance. In a desperate maneuver, Bolt tried to perform a roundhouse kick to turn his balance around. Konohamaru caught the kick; Bolt was now on one foot and turned away from his opponent in a kind of ballerina stance. Bolt was at his sensei's mercy.

Konohamaru chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Bolt asked with a bit of frustration as he struggled to get free.

"Oh nothing. You look kind of funny like this" Konohamaru answered.

Bolt gritted his teeth. "You just wait." Bolt doubled his efforts to try and pull his foot away. "Until I get out here!" Bolt hopped on his one foot and lashed out with a kick.

Konohamaru easily caught it and now Bolt looked like more of a wheel barrow than a ninja.

"Let me go!" Bolt whined as he desperately tried to get out of Konohamaru's grip.

Konohamaru couldn't help, but laugh a bit more. Bolt's high pitched voice just made everything a bit comical, especially when he got frustrated. He noticed Bolt's efforts had become weaker. "Is this is it?"

Bolt didn't move to respond. His muscles were tired and he was starting to breathe a bit hard.

"I expected better from the Hokage's son." Konohamaru taunted.

Bolt stopped struggling altogether. A tense moment passed; Konohamaru thought Bolt just gave up. He was about let go, but he noticed one of Bolt's hands shoot into one of his pockets. Before he knew it, he had a couple of shuriken flying at him. He jumped up, taking Bolt with him, and threw Bolt away from him. Bolt flipped over and landed with a skid.

"I'll show you what I can do!" Bolt shouted as he put his hands together in a familiar cross pattern. Before he could start molding charkra to perform the jutstu, Konohamaru was in front of him grasping his hands.

"What do you think you're doing? That jutsu can be really dangerous if you don't have a large enough chakra reserve." Konohamaru scolded.

Bolt ripped his hands out of his grip. "Leave me alone! I have more than enough charkra to-" Bolt said angrily.

"You're 10! You're way too young." Konohamaru said. "How did you even learn that jutsu? Did your dad teach it to you?" Konohamaru asked.

Bolt shifted his gaze away from Konohamaru and remained silent.

"Did your dad not tell you how dangerous this jutsu is?" Konohamaru asked.

"He told me not to use it." Bolt whispered to himself.

Unfortunately for Bolt, Konohamaru heard him. "Then why are you using it? You should start listening to your father m-"

"Shut up!" Bolt shouted; his hands clenched into fists. "All you do talk about him! Well guess what? I'm not him!" Bolt was fed up with people mentioning his father when he was around. "He isn't that great anyways. All he does is work at the Hokage tower. He doesn't have time for anything else. Being Hokage is so dumb." Bolt said glaring at the ground.

"Is that what you think?" Konohamaru asked.

Bolt looked up at him in anger and confusion.

Konohamaru let out a sigh and turned his back to Bolt. "Are you ready yet?" Konohamaru asked.

"For what?" Bolt responded. The blond boy's tone still had a bit of a bite to it.

"Well round two or are you done already?" Konohamaru said.

"No! I can still fight." Bolt said defiantly.

"Good. We'll start whenever you're ready." Konohamaru said.

At first, Bolt was wary. His sensei still had his back turned to him as if he were inviting him to attack. Bolt didn't really care though, he was angry and frustrated; all he wanted to do was fight. He rushed intending to land a palm strike right on his sensei's back. Bolt expected Konohamaru to dodge so he was compensating in his stance to immediately go left or right. A moment later, Bolt was in pure shock. His palm had missed, as he predicted, but somehow Konohamaru ended up behind him.

"Nice try kid." Konohamaru placed a hand on young boy's head. "But you gotta do better than that."

Bolt turned with another palm strike. Konohamaru grabbed his arm mid palm strike to stop it. As Bolt struggled under his sensei's grip, he couldn't help but notice Konohamaru's gaze; it was one of disappointment and something else Bolt couldn't quite pin down. Before he could reflect any further on it, Bolt felt a powerful impact on his chest and was sent rolling back.

"Maybe you were right after all." Konohamaru commented.

Bolt was having trouble getting back up after their last bout. He managed to push his upper-body up enough to slide into a kneeling position. His breathing was a bit ragged, but Bolt wasn't a stranger to this feeling. "What do you mean?" The boy asked.

"Your father isn't fit to be Hokage." Konohamaru responded.

Bolt tensed at his sensei's words.

"He's gotten pretty weak over the years, since all he does is paperwork. Hokages are supposed to be the strongest ninja in the village not some paper pushing secretary." Konohamaru said. He saw that Bolt was completely still staring at the ground. "If this all the Hokage's son can do, then I guess it's pretty clear he's getting soft."

Bolt was still on one knee, seemingly paralyzed.

Konohamaru smiled and put his hands behind his head. "Maybe I should be Hokage." As soon as those words left his mouth, he felt it. Using his quick reflexes, he rolled to the side to avoid three incoming kunais. Konohamaru quickly realized the trap as he saw several air bullets headed right for him. Since he just came out of a roll, his best option was to dash back fast. It worked as the air bullets impacted with the ground in front of him, throwing up plenty of dust. When the dust started to clear, Konohamaru saw that Bolt was quickly approaching him.

Bolt started his assault by jumping in the air to send out a kick to his opponent's head. Konohamaru caught the kick and flung Bolt upwards. Bolt used that momentum to flip himself upright. With a quick recovery on the landing, Bolt sent out a barrage of palm strikes. Konohamaru either dodged or swatted Bolt's attacks. He could tell Bolt was reaching his limit; his technique was starting to get sloppy. Konohamaru decided it was time to put an end to this; he grabbed Bolt's arm from a sloppy palm strike and twisted to lock it behind the boy. With his other hand, Konohamaru quickly grabbed a kunai and put it to the boy's throat.

"It's over Bolt." Konohamaru said. Despite what he said, he felt the blonde boy struggle under his grip. "Didn't you hear me kid? It's over." Konohamaru reiterated. Bolt didn't seem listen. Konohamaru released his grip and swept Bolt's feet from under him.

Bolt was in pain. He felt a dull pain spread throughout his body with every breath he took. He knew he needed to get up, but his legs refused to respond. He just laid there, looking at the dark sky above him. His body wanted nothing more than to succumb to that darkness and give up. For a moment, Bolt had a new-found respect for his nindo. It's easier to say that you won't give up, but holding your ground against impossible odds was something else. Bolt rotated his trunk to flip himself on his stomach. He then pushed against the ground with his arms to make one more attempt.

"You're getting up again huh?" Konohamaru said as he watched the boy struggle to get on his knees.

"D-don't u-underestimate me!" Bolt shouted in hoarse voice. He managed to stand up again.

"Do you seriously think you can keep going? You're exhausted." Konohamaru pointed out. He watched as the boy struggle to his feet. "Why are you going so far?"

Bolt raised his head slowly until his eyes met his sensei's.

Konohamaru froze. The change Konohamaru saw in Bolt was improbable and unexpected, especially at his age. What he saw in Bolt's eyes left him flabbergasted. As a jonin, Konohamaru had been through one dangerous mission after another and he hadn't frozen like this since his days as a genin. The unique sound of a kunai whizzing through the air snapped him out of his shock. He prepared to deflect them, but then the kunais turned into smoke and revealed two other Bolts.

"You insulted my dad."

Having said that, Bolt sped off towards his sensei. Using the kunai's previous momentum, Bolt's shadow clone skidded on the ground and jumped to deliver a powerful roundhouse to the stunned Konohamaru. He managed to put his arms to block the kick, but the force of the kick made him skid back and stumble a bit; the jonin managed to keep his footing though. Before he could fully recover, the other clone was already on him and kicked him up in the air. That's where Bolt started his assault; he jumped into the air and started delivering a barrage of palm strikes. During this time, Bolt felt a kind of uncanny precision. He felt like he could see exactly where he wanted to hit. After three consecutive palm strikes, Bolt felt his energy leaving him again. He knew the next blow had to finish it.

"Hakke!" Bolt shouted as he brought his palms together and struck Konohamaru's stomach.

The blow sent Konohamaru into the ground and a cloud of dust surrounded the site of the impact. After the the dust cleared, the older shinobi was sprawled on the ground facing the sky with dull eyes.

"My dad is an amazing ninja! The best there is!" Bolt declared. "That's why he was chosen to protect and lead the village! That's why he's Hokage!" Bolt shouted as he looked at Konohamaru. Despite his vigorous declaration, Bolt barely had any strength left. He felt as if he could fall over any second.

Suddenly, Konohamaru's body poofed out of the existence.

"You're right." A familiar voice responded.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading this chapter!**

 **If you have any comments about the story, good or bad, please consider reviewing. It really means a lot!**

 **Until next time! :D**


	2. Meaning

**Thanks for the reviews everyone, your feedback really means a lot. I just wanted to remind everyone who reads this story that no review is a bad review. Anything you have to say regarding this story really does helps me, whether it's with my writing or motivation.**

 **Sorry for running a bit late, but, as promised, here is the second chapter. I hope you enjoy it :D.**

 **Some of you may notice that this chapter was re-posted. The reasoning behind this is that, for some reason, I couldn't see this story's second chapter. Apparently the story was updated, but only had one chapter. I have no idea if this is just a glitch on my end (although judging from the reviews I got on the second chapter it might be), but, regardless, I'm re-posting it just in case others couldn't see it as well (I added and fixed some minor stuff as well). Thanks for all the support :).  
**

* * *

 **Meaning  
**

Bolt's eyes widened. He turned around to see his sensei completely unharmed. "How di-"

"Come on kid. You didn't seriously think you were the only one who could use shadow clones right?" Konohamaru responded.

"But when?" Bolt asked.

"When you created that smoke, which was very clever by the way." Konohamaru explained. "Before you keep asking questions, lay down. You look like you're about to pass out." Konohamaru said with a chuckle.

Bolt didn't need to be told twice, but he was so exhausted that when he went to lay down he just fell. Luckily, Konohamaru was there to catch him and gently lay him on the ground.

"You're lucky I carry these around with me." Konohamaru said, taking out a soldier pill from his pouch. "Here eat this." Konohamaru put the pill to Bolt's mouth.

Bolt chewed on the pill and immediately felt some of his strength come back to him. He tried to move, but found himself in a bit of pain. His body felt heavy; even breathing was difficult. His muscles were ached every-time he even thought about moving.

"Just rest there for a little bit. You should be back on your feet in no time." Konohamaru said.

Several moments passed with nothing but unbridled silence. Konohamaru adopted a more comfortable position and sat next Bolt. The young blonde seemed to be lost the orange hues of the sky above him.

"So now you understand right?" Konohamaru asked cryptically.

"Understand what?" Bolt asked annoyed.

"Your father's position." Konohamaru answered as glanced at the boy next to him. "Before you hated Hokages and your father, yet what you said back there didn't seem match up." Konohamaru said.

Bolt stayed silent. He turned his face away from the older shinobi. "You wouldn't understand."

Konohamaru chuckled and looked up at the sky. "You know my grandfather used to be Hokage. He was the Third Hokage." Konohamaru glanced at Bolt to see that he had the boy's attention. "He was like a dad to me. You see my parents were out at work or on missions a lot, so they would leave me with him. I spent a lot of my time with the old man or Uncle Asuma. It wasn't long before everyone knew me as the honorable grandson and I hated it."

Bolt let out a small laugh and Konohamaru smiled.

"It was hard you know; everyone refused to see me as Konohamaru. Instead they saw me as the Hokage's grandson. At first, I didn't mind it that much because he would usually be with me, but that didn't last long. As I got older, he got busier. Before I knew it, I was spending more time training with Ebisu-sensei than with my grandfather. He was almost always too busy to spend time with me. I would always ditch training with Ebisu-sensei and go to the Hokage tower to challenge him for the title. It was my way of trying to get him to notice me again. It was my way of trying to get people to notice me, not his grandson." Konohamaru with a reminiscent sigh.

Bolt laid there in a daze staring blankly into the sky. "I...I just wish he had more time." Bolt said. With some effort, the blonde brought himself to a sitting position.

"Bolt you know he doesn't. As the Hokage, he-"

Bolt punched the ground. "Then he should make some!" He shouted. "I'm his son damn it!" Bolt shouted as he punched the ground again. "He's supposed to be there for me!" The young Uzumaki got to his feet only to see the world around him spin.

Konohamaru caught him before he fell. "Easy there, you're still pretty drained." Konohamaru said with a sympathetic smile. As he sat the younger boy down again, he felt a certain dampness on his pants.

Bolt quickly wiped his eyes dry. He wanted nothing more than to run away and deal with his frustrations somewhere else, but he couldn't summon the energy to get up. He pulled his knees close and rested his chin on his arms as he looked out into the trees.

"Bolt" Konohamaru called. "Do you really think he doesn't know that?"

"I don't know. He's just never there." Bolt grumbled.

"Your father grew up alone you know. The village shunned him for most of his childhood, including most of the children; they're parents told them to stay away. He had no friends; no one was there for him." Konohamaru explained.

This got Bolt's attention. Even though they studied the Hokage at the academy, the lessons usually focused around their achievements rather than their life story. Bolt had never really asked his father about his early life either. He knew a few things from he was on team 7, but nothing before that. He glanced at his sensei with a sudden burning curiosity.

"It wasn't until he entered the academy that he found someone he could call a friend." Konohamaru was growing uncomfortable with the conversation. He didn't think it was his place to tell Bolt about Naruto's early life, but, at the same time, he felt that it was necessary to let him know. He decided to shift the conversation. "That didn't deter your father. You see, Naruto was always quite...determined." Konohamaru said with a smile. "In fact, the original reason he wanted to become Hokage was so that the villagers would respect him." Konohamaru explained.

Bolt took a moment to reflect on what his sensei had just said. He looked at Konohamaru. "Could...Could you tell me more?" Bolt asked with hopeful eyes.

Konohamaru was a bit taken back. "I think you should ask your father. He can tell you more about it than I could." As soon as he said that, Konohamaru saw Bolt's eyes immediately droop down in defeat. "If there is anything you need to know about your father Bolt, it is that he knows what it's like to be alone. He would never want that for you. If you seriously asked him to stop being Hokage and be your dad, he would leave as soon as he could find a replacement. He would give up his dreams for his family Bolt." Konohamaru finished.

Bolt silently listened on.

"Would you really ask him to give up on his dreams to spend more time with you?" Konohamaru asked.

At that moment, something clicked in Bolt's head. He held a small smile on his face. "No." He took a deep breath and made an attempt to get on his feet.

"Easy." Konohamaru warned. He was ready to catch Bolt if necessary.

Despite some stumbling and swaying, Bolt got himself to stand up. "He's the best for the job sensei." Bolt said as he looked up at the rosy sky.

"Your dad knows you're strong enough Bolt." Konohamaru said as he put his hand on the blonde boy's head. "You know, he's counting on you to protect your mother and sister when he's not there." Konohamaru said. He noticed Bolt had that signature grin on his face again and that was enough for a grin to creep up on his own.

There was a moment of peaceful silence between the two, until...

"Shimata!" Bolt shouted as he jumped up in a hysterical fashion.

"What's wrong?!" Konohamaru responded.

"My mom!" Bolt said.

"What ab-"

"I told her I'd be on time for dinner!" Bolt shouted as he panicked. "I gotta go!." Bolt said as he tried to take off. Bolt forgot how tired he actually was thanks to the adrenaline rush he got from his mini panic attack. When he went to try and move like he wanted to, his body didn't respond accordingly. Luckily, his sensei was there catch him.

"How many times do I have to tell you to relax and rest? Your body is exhausted!" Konohamaru said with an exasperated tone.

"But-"

"Get on." Konohamaru said as he kneeled down.

"You don-"

"Do you want to get there on time or not?!" Konohamaru shouted.

Bolt was out of choices so he reluctantly nodded. He got on his sensei's back and they took off. Bolt was surprised at how fast Konohamaru actually was. Seeing it and feeling it were surely two different things. Before he knew it they were in front of his house.

"Wow that was fast sensei." Bolt said as he got off.

"Well I am a jonin after all." Konohamaru said proudly.

Before the two could say anything further, the door opened.

"Bolt. I thought you were gonna be here on time." Hinata said in a disappointed voice.

Bolt frowned. "I'm sorry mom. I got caught up again." Bolt explained. He then did something Konohamaru thought he would never see from Bolt; he bowed.

Hinata looked at her son in mild surprise. A smile graced her face.

"I'm sorry Hinata-san. Bolt wasn't tired after we ate, so we sparred for a while and I guess time got away from us. You know how he is, he never seems to run out of energy." Konohamaru said. He quickly bowed as an apology.

Hinata couldn't hold it in any longer and let out a small giggle. She sighed reminiscently. "I guess it can't be helped." Hinata responded.

Bolt immediately shot her a bright smile and hugged her. "Thanks mom! You're the best!" Bolt said.

"But you're taking a bath before dinner." Hinata finished.

"Aww!" Bolt complained.

Konohamaru smiled as he watched this little moment.

"Nii-chan!"

A little girl with dark purple hair sprinted out of the door to greet Bolt with a hug.

"H-Hima-chan!" Bolt uttered is surprise and pain. His body was still sore from the spar.

Himawari immediately pulled away and crossed her arms. "I'm mad at you Nii-chan!" She declared.

"Wait what?" Bolt said confused. "What did I do?"

"You said we were gonna play today." Himawari said with a pout.

"Well you see I-" Bolt stopped when he saw his sister's face. He hated when she did this to him, but he couldn't take seeing his sister upset. "I'm sorry Hima-chan, but I promise I'll make it up to you!"

Himawari still looked a little bit unsure. "Promise?"

"Promise." Bolt assured with his signature grin.

"Okay!" Himawari said as she reverted to her usual bubbly self. "Hi Uncle Konohamaru!"

"Hey Himawari-chan, how are you doing?" Konohamaru greeted as he crouched down to the smaller girl.

"I'm doing good. Mommy has been teaching me how to be ninja just like you." Himawari giddily responded.

"Really? Are you going to join the academy any time soon?" Konohamaru asked.

Himawari nodded. "Mommy said that I should wait until I'm 8 to join the academy, so that I can learn stuff from her and Ojii-san." Himawari responded.

"Well I'm sure you'll be a super strong ninja then." Konohamaru said as he gently patted the young child's head.

"Hey Hinata-chan, who's at the door?" A voice from within the house asked.

Bolt was surprised. He could pick that voice out anywhere and his house was the last place he would've expected him to be right now. A giddy feeling involuntarily rushed through Bolt.

"Come here and see for yourself." Hinata responded.

A tall blonde man in casual orange attire walked out of the door.

"Hey Bolt! Where have you been? We've been waiting for you." Naruto said as he ruffled his son's hair.

Bolt stared at the man for a bit and then snapped out of it. His father usually didn't make it to dinner, so it was quite the surprise to see him here. He slapped Naruto's hand away and crossed his arms. "Don't call me that old man! I was training with Konohamaru-sensei." Bolt responded.

Naruto sheepishly smiled. "Oh yeah? How did that go?" Naruto said as he crouched down to Bolt's level.

"It went fine." Bolt said as he looked away from Naruto.

"Aww come on. I wanna know if you used any cool techniques." Naruto responded.

Bolt had to smile at that. He did want to brag about his spar with Konohamaru, but he wasn't about to let his dad off the hook so easily. Suddenly, Bolt felt his body being lifted into the air and, before he knew it, he was sitting on his dad's shoulders. Despite feeling a bit annoyed, a childish laugh managed to escape Bolt's lips.

"What are you doing old man?! Put me down ttebasa!" Bolt protested in mock anger.

"You used to beg to carry you like this ttebayo!" Naruto retorted.

"I'm not a little kid!"

"You just turned ten Bolt."

Bolt huffed in frustration with a smile that betrayed his expression. He was too tired to continue their usual banter, so Bolt placed his arms on his father's head and rested his chin.

Naruto smiled. "Well since he doesn't want to talk about it...Konohamaru how was it?" Naruto asked.

Konohamaru took a look at Bolt; he seemed impassive as he waited for his answer. "His chakra control was excellent. He was able to effectively use Jyuuken with a good general knowledge of where tenketsus are in the chakra pathway system. He has large chakra reserves for his age; he was able to make two shadow clone, use henge, and use a good wind style jutsu. His strategic awareness was also very good. He's definitely got your attitude Naruto; the kid refused to go down without a fight."

Bolt smiled wide at the compliments.

"But, when he got in trouble, he was completely reckless and tried to muscle his way through. After using Jyuuken extensively, he decided it would be a good idea to use shadow clones. I warned him about the how dangerous it is to use that jutsu, especially when he's so young, but he did it anyway. He suffered from chakra exhaustion. The only reason he didn't pass out was because I had soldier pills on me."

Bolt looked down. Bolt was sure his mother would lecture him later after hearing about that.

"He's got guts though. He even managed to surprise me and take out my reinforced shadow clone." Konohamaru said with a smile.

"Really? Bolt did that?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"Yep."

Naruto glanced up at his son and put a hand on his head. "You've gotten strong Bolt." Naruto said with a proud grin.

He might not admit it, but Bolt felt happy. He was not only happy that his progress as a ninja was being recognized, but, moreover, he was happy that his dad acknowledged it. As elated as he was feeling, he wasn't about to show it. Bolt quickly buried his face into his arms. "Thanks...dad." Bolt muttered.

"Mommy I'm hungry." Himawari complained.

"I know sweetie." Hinata responded warmly. "Naruto-kun, we should eat dinner before it gets cold. You're welcome to stay Konohamaru." Hinata said.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Yeah you're right. Bolt looks pretty tired too."

"Thanks for the offer, but I gotta go do...something else." Konohamaru said sheepishly.

"Something else?" Naruto questioned.

Hinata gave the jonin a knowing smile. "You probably don't want to keep her waiting then. She hates waiting." Hinata teased.

"Eh? Am I missing something?" Naruto asked.

Hinata giggled. "Don't worry about it Naruto-kun."

"I should probably get going soon, but, before that, I have to talk to you about something Naruto." Konohamaru said.

Hinata nodded. She crouched down to her daughter's level. "Let's get ready for dinner." Hinata said with a smile.

"Okay!" Himawari said excitedly as she went back inside the house.

"You too Bolt." Hinata called.

"But I wanna know what they're gonna say!" Bolt protested.

"You have to take a bath before dinner, because you were late remember?" Hinata responded.

"But..." Bolt hung his head in defeat.

Naruto carefully put Bolt down. "I'll be there soon." Naruto said.

Those words did not sit well with Bolt. "That's what you always say." Bolt said as he walked into the house. The negative thoughts that were brewing in his head quickly dissipated when he smelled his mother's cooking. He made a b-line for the table.

"You smell funny nii-chan." Himawari said pinching her nose.

"Bath first Bolt." Hinata said.

"But mom! I'm really hungry." Bolt complained.

"We're waiting on your father. He'll be here by the time you're done bathing." Hinata responded in her usual calming voice.

"You don't know that. He might have to go work or something." Bolt said with a frown.

Hinata sighed. She was plenty aware of the growing rift between her husband and her son. She crouched and pulled him into a hug. "You gotta trust mommy on this one. He promised he would be here for dinner and your father never breaks promises." Hinata whispered.

Bolt held a small smile on his face.

"Come on nii-chan! I'll take a bath with you!" Himawari said as she started pulling along.

"W-what? No way!" Bolt protested. He broke out of her grip and started running upstairs. "I can do it myself!" Bolt shouted.

"Wait for me nii-chan!" Himawari shouted as she ran up the stairs to follow him.

 **\- Break -**

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked in an incredulous tone.

"Yeah he definitely did it." Konohamaru answered.

"Wow this is awesome! Hinata and I didn't really expect either of them to have that." Naruto said with glee.

"Bolt told me he's been training with Hiashi and Hinata. How'd you get him to do that?" Konohamaru said.

Naruto laughed. "He! You should see him now; Hiashi is a big softie when the kids are around." Naruto explained with a sly smile. "Plus he wanted to see if they inherited the Byakugan."

"Well it's good to know he's softened up over the years." Konohamaru commented. His face grew a bit more serious. "Are you going to tell him?"

Naruto's face grew serious as well and he shook his head. "No." He answered. "It's better if he figures it out on his own."

Konohamaru nodded. "Anyways I really gotta get going, but there's one more thing I have to tell you."

Naruto stood there impassively waiting for his friend to speak.

"Don't worry about Bolt too much. He'll come around." Konohamaru said with a smile. With that he took off into the rooftops.

 **\- Break -**

Bolt didn't have a choice; when it came to his sister, he would do just about anything. There was just no way around it; each time he would protest she would pull the eyes on him and he would end up caving. As nice and innocent as she was, Bolt swore that she knew more than she let on. But he was her big brother after all and there was no way he was gonna see the day where a smile would drop from her face.

"Wasn't that fun nii-chan!?" Himawari said with a smile.

Bolt had a grin of his own. Himawari always had a way to make him feel better. "Yeah it was Hima-chan."

"I'm glad you're feeling better nii-chan." Himawari said.

"Thanks Hima-chan." Bolt responded earnestly.

A loud growl interrupted the two siblings. Both Uzumakis laughed before toweling off; they quickly got dressed and headed downstairs for dinner. As two headed downstairs they saw their father talking to their mother in the kitchen.

"Mommy we're done!" Himawari announced.

Hinata shifted her attention her two children. "Dinner is already on the table sweetie." Hinata responded.

"Okay!' Himawari said as she ran to the table.

Bolt, on the other hand, stood there looking perplexed.

"You okay Bolt?" Naruto asked as he approached his son.

"You're not leaving?" Bolt asked.

"Of course not! Why would you ask that?" Naruto questioned.

"I mean..." Bolt was struggling with his words. He wanted to let him know exactly why he asked that; he wanted to lash out. At the same time, he was glad his father wasn't leaving and he didn't want to upset his mother or sister.

Naruto's expression softened. He put a hand on the boy's back. "We can talk about it later." Naruto said. "Now come on! I'm starving-ttebayo." Naruto said as he gave him a little push.

Bolt chuckled. "You're always hungry old man."

The two males walked to the dining table to find Hinata and Himawari waiting for them. They quickly took their seats and, with that, the family began eating their dinner. The dinner table was always quite lively for the Uzumaki family; it was full of old stories and other conversations that always brought smiles everyone at the table. Today, though, Bolt had something specific he wanted to talk about.

"What do you do as Hokage?" Bolt plainly asked.

"Huh?" Naruto uttered, having been caught off guard.

"I mean all I ever see you do is sit in your office and work through some papers or you're doing something on your computer." Bolt explained. "Is that all being Hokage is about?" He asked with a hint of annoyance.

"Daddy protects the whole village!" Himawari said.

"That's right sweetie." Hinata responded. "A Hokage makes sure that the village is running properly and that the villagers are happy." Hinata explained.

"Sounds boring. If all you do is sit behind a desk and do paperwork all day, why would anyone want to be Hokage?" Bolt said, crossing his arms and looking up indignantly.

Naruto watched his son with a somewhat bemused expression. "Bolt." He called.

"Hm?" Bolt relaxed his expression and looked at his father.

"Being Hokage" He started. "For me being Hokage means I can protect my precious people. Sure, it gets boring with all the meetings and the paperwork. And dealing with the council is always stressful, not to mention all the complaints I get everyday." Naruto stopped to chuckle. "But if that's what it takes to make sure you, Hima-hime, Hinata-chan, and everyone else have a reason to smile, then I want to be Hokage."

"Yay! Daddy!" Himawari shouted as she slid off of her seat and climbed up on her father's lap to give him a hug.

Naruto smiled at his young daughter and gently ruffled her hair. "Alright Hima-hime go finish your dinner."

"Okay!" Himawari responded as she sat back down in her seat.

The family resumed their dinner. There was a comfortable silence at the table. Hinata was smiling and Himawari was giggling a little bit as they finished their meal. Bolt, on the other hand, wasn't paying much attention to his food, instead he was just staring at his father. The young boy was unconsciously fiddling with his utensils, as thoughts raced through his head.

"Boruto-kun." Hinata called.

The blonde boy snapped out of his trance and looked at his mother.

"Did you lose your appetite?" Hinata asked.

Bolt looked down at his plate. "Sorry mom, I guess I was distracted." He said sheepishly.

Hinata giggled. "Well finish up. You gotta get up early for academy."

Bolt groaned.

The two parents chuckled.

"Come on. I'll tuck you guys in tonight." Naruto said.

"Yay! Can you read me a bed time story daddy?" Himawari asked.

"Of course Hima-hime." Naruto responded. There was no way he could resist his little girl's innocent face.

While Hinata cleaned the table, Bolt wolfed down the rest of his dinner. He was kind of disappointed that he didn't get to spend more time with his dad, but at least he got to see him before bed-time. Bolt heard Himawari giggle.

"Come on Daddy!" Himawari said as she dragged Naruto upstairs.

"Wait Hima we have to help mommy clean up." Naruto responded with a sweatdrop.

"It's okay Naruto-kun. I got it!" Hinata said.

"Yay! Come on daddy, let's play!" Himawari said as she slowly dragged him further upstairs.

"Hinata-cha~n." Naruto shouted in mock anguish.

Hinata giggled and turned her attention back to the dinner table. She looked back and saw that Bolt was about to run upstairs as well.

"Bolt-kun." She called. "Can you help me clean up?" Hinata asked in sweet voice.

Bolt seemed conflicted, but after a few moments he relented with a groan. "Yes mom." He responded.

Bolt picked up the rest of the plates and took them to the kitchen. While they were washing the plates, Hinata kept catching her son spacing off with a small frown. She was pretty sure she knew what was bothering him.

"You know your sister misses daddy a lot." Hinata said.

"Hm?" Bolt glanced at his mother.

"I know she usually doesn't show it, but she's always asking to visit the Hokage Tower." Hinata explained with a sad smile. "But we can't always visit his office, since your father has to work."

Bolt caught on to what his mother was trying to say and smiled a bit. "Yeah...She talks about it sometimes." Bolt responded.

Hinata pulled him into a hug and kissed his head. "Himawari is lucky to have a big brother like you."

Bolt laughed and gave her his signature grin. "Of course she is!" He said.

After they finished cleaning up the dishes and organizing, they headed upstairs. As they walked through the hall, they saw Naruto quietly closing the door to Himawari's room.

Naruto sighed and wiped his forehead before taking notice of Hinata and Bolt. "She's out for the night." He said with a smile.

Hinata smiled at her husband. "Thank you Naruto-kun." She said. Hinata shifted her attention to her son. "Okay Bolt-kun, it's time to get ready for bed."

Bolt scowled. "Aww can't I stay up a little longer with you guys?" Bot pleaded.

"Bolt you have academy tomorrow. Besides your father and I are going to bed too." Hinata responded.

"Yeah I gotta go to the tower earlier than usual." Naruto explained.

Bolt pouted. "Okay." He said in a dejected tone and headed to his room.

Bolt sat on his bed and looked out the window. Looking out into the village and up at the sky always helped him clear his head. It wasn't long, though, before he heard a click at his door. He turned to find his father standing at the doorway.

"I see you're not ready for bed yet." Naruto said with a chuckle.

Bolt gave his father an exasperated look and threw his head into the bed.

Naruto took a spot in his son's bed and sat down. "So do you want a bed-time story too?" Naruto teased.

Bolt sprang up and punched Naruto's arm. "No way old man! I'm not a little kid!" Bolt responded.

Both of them laughed a bit.

"There is something I want to ask you, but..." Bolt trailed off.

Naruto a put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You can ask me anything Bolt." Naruto said with a comforting smile.

"It's about when you were a kid." Bolt explained.

As soon as he said that, Naruto stopped smiling. "Go on." He encouraged.

Bolt gripped his jacket. "Is...Is it true that you were alone?" Bolt asked.

There was a moment of silence. The atmosphere became heavy and Bolt refused to meet his father's gaze; he, instead, he focused on the floor.

"Yeah. I was." Naruto answered. "You probably know that Grandma Kushina and Grandpa Minato passed away protecting the village."

Bolt nodded.

"After that, I was put in a foster home for a while, but, eventually, the Third gave me my own apartment. That old man always looked out for me." Naruto said with a sad smile. "Not a lot of people were nice to me; I spent a lot of my time pranking them and the Hokage monument."

This caught Bolt's attention. "Why?" Bolt asked.

Despite the ambiguity in his son's question, Naruto knew what he meant. "I wanted them to recognize me." He answered. "I wanted them to acknowledge me as Naruto, not something else. I guess I thought being the best Hokage would do that."

Bolt frowned.

"But that all changed when I joined the academy. That's where I met Sakura-chan, Sasuke, Hinata-chan, and everyone else. I remember the first day I met Iruka-sensei and, even though he was a strict teacher, he was always looking out for me. After that I got put into Team 7 with Kakashi-sensei. Before I knew it, I had a bunch of friends that acknowledged me." Naruto explained.

Bolt felt hand resting on his head and, on reflex, looked up to his father.

"Now the whole village acknowledges me and they trust me to be Hokage. Even more importantly, I have a family now." Naruto said with smile. "You, Hinata-chan, and Hima-chan mean the world to me and..." He took a breath. "I want to protect that dattebayo!" Naruto vigorously declared.

At that moment, something snapped and the floodgates opened. Little by little, tears started to form in the young Uzumaki's eyes. His breaths became rapid and inconsistent. Bolt lunged at his father and buried his face into his jacket.

Naruto was startled at first; it wasn't normal for Bolt to act like this. He then relaxed and wrapped an arm around his son. "I'm sorry Bolt." He said.

This made Bolt lift his head to look up at his father.

"I guess I haven't been the best father." Naruto said with a sad smile. "I'm sorry for-"

"Dad stop." Bolt said. He pushed away from Naruto and sat upright. "I..." Bolt stopped to wipe the tears on his face. "I understand." Bolt almost laughed at the confused look on his father's face. "I'm glad you're my dad dattebasa!" Bolt said with a smile.

Naruto felt a blend of unique emotions surge through him; among them were pride, elation, confusion, and unadulterated bliss. Naruto brought his hands to his face and felt a strange dampness.

"Dad are you crying?" Bolt teased.

"Eh?!" Naruto immediately jumped out of the bed. "Weren't you just bawling a second ago?! Naruto said with an accusatory finger.

"No I wasn't!" Bolt retorted.

"Yes you were!"

"Well you cried way more than I did!"

"No way! You did!

"No you did!

"No you did!

After a few more moments of banter, the two looked at each other and fell over on the bed laughing. After a few seconds, Naruto suddenly sat upright with a look of horror.

"I have to go to the Hokage Tower in a few hours!" Naruto said.

"I have academy..." Bolt said.

They both slowly turned their heads and looked at the clock. Then they simultaneously groaned.

"Sorry." Naruto said sheepishly, while scratching the back of his head.

"Meh I'll be fine." Bolt responded. "Besides I did say I wanted to stay up right?" He said with a smile.

Naruto smiled back at him. "Right."

And with that, the Hokage got up from the bed and headed towards the door. He opened it, but...

"Dad?" Bolt called.

Naruto turned his head to look at his son. "Yeah?" He responded.

"Thanks and..." Bolt took a small breath "Could you keep this between us?" Bolt asked.

"Of course!" Naruto answered with a thumbs up. "Good night." He said as he turned off the lights.

"Good night...old man." Bolt said with a snicker.

With a chuckle or two, Naruto closed the door.

* * *

 **So tell me, what do you think about Naruto and Bolt's relationship? Do you think I portrayed it and/or them correctly? Which name do you prefer, Bolt or Boruto?  
**

 **I look forward to reading what you thought.**

 **Thank you for reading my story!**

 **Until next time! :D.**


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